Monday, October 22, 2007

CNN Extends Availability of Planet in Peril to the iTunes Store, Netflix, Amazon.com

CNN Worldwide will make Planet in Peril, its sweeping four-hour investigation about threats to the world’s environment, available in its entirety through other platforms and services including the iTunes Store, Netflix and Amazon.com.

“Planet in Peril is essential viewing for anyone who cares about the environment,” said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. “To treat Planet in Peril as the groundbreaking documentary that it is, we felt compelled to make this investigation as available as possible in as many formats as possible.”

In addition to airing over two nights on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and Wednesday, Oct. 24, on CNN/U.S. from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (ET/PT) and CNN International elsewhere in the world, Planet in Peril, filmed in a high-definition format, will be available through:

• iTunes as downloadable video for $1.99 per episode at www.iTunes.com. Each episode will be available the day after its airing – the first episode on Wednesday, Oct. 24, and the second episode on Thursday, Oct. 25;

• Netflix as a rental DVD. Netflix subscribers are able to place rental requests now for Planet in Peril with delivery scheduled after the program’s debut on CNN/U.S.;

• Amazon.com as a DVD. Visitors to www.amazon.com/planetinperil can place pre-orders today for the Planet in Peril DVD set in standard definition (SD) for $29.95, with delivery scheduled after the program’s debut. CreateSpace, part of the Amazon.com, Inc. group of companies and an inventory free on-demand publisher for DVD, HD DVD, digital content, CDs and books, will fulfill orders for each Planet in Peril DVD set;

• Sprint cell phone users through CNN Mobile Live available on Sprint TV. Users will be able to watch the live broadcast of Planet in Peril on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and Wednesday, Oct. 24, on CNN Mobile Live from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (ET/PT); and

• Video-on-demand through cable providers. Planet in Peril has been made available for television on-demand platforms. Viewers should check their On Demand guides for availability.

CNN on Sunday, Oct. 21, offered exclusive, advance screenings of a 40-minute excerpt of Planet in Peril at Apple Stores in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and London. At the screenings, representatives involved in the documentary’s production, including CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Animal Planet host and wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin, and CNN producers and executives, were on hand to discuss the making of this four-hour documentary filmed across four continents and 13 countries.

In addition to the broadcast of Planet in Peril on CNN/U.S. and CNN International, special reporting relating to the investigation is available across multiple CNN Worldwide networks and platforms, including:

• Exclusive video trailer for “Until the Day Is Done”, the new song from R.E.M., matched to clips from CNN’s Planet in Peril, available at www.CNN.com/PlanetinPeril;

• A special, investigative section on CNN.com at www.CNN.com/PlanetinPeril, which includes a 20-minute excerpt from the documentary;

• Anderson Cooper 360° Daily Podcast, available for free on CNN.com and iTunes, features pre-released packages from Planet in Peril;

• One-minute special reports from a 20-part series anchored by Cooper for CNN Radio affiliates; and

• A Planet in Peril viewing guide from CNN Student News, providing parents and educators with a springboard for discussing the documentary with students.

For Planet in Peril, Cooper, Gupta and Corwin will focus on four main issues that threaten the planet and its inhabitants: climate change, deforestation, species loss and overpopulation. Planet in Peril, filmed across four continents and 13 countries, airs over two nights on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (ET/PT) on CNN/U.S. and at other times on CNN International.

The debut of Planet in Peril, shot and produced using state-of-the-art high-definition equipment, follows the September launch of CNN-HD, the network’s high-definition news channel. Crews for Anderson Cooper 360°, an in-depth, comprehensive news program that takes a full 360-degree look at the world’s events, produced Planet in Peril.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media